The Netherlands have produced films since the silent era, but the industry itself has been largely (And remains) domestically focused. There are interestingly few periods where Dutch films penetrated film festivals, few who’ve ever even emigrated to Hollywood, and in general, it’s an industry which has certainly had a small, prestigious base but never really done more than that.

Which is fascinating as they have produced two of the most distinctive filmmakers ever made in Joris Ivens, who was for 50+ years the king of political documentaries and committed cinema, and Paul Verhoeven, who led the period in the 60s-70s when Dutch cinema became controversial and cool for its handling of conventions, sex, society and politics.

Still, Dutch cinema has produced interesting artists. Alex van Warmerdam’s dark comedy-drama-surrealist films have always uniquely reflected Dutch society, while Marleen Gorris’s Antoina’s Line won an Academy Award in 1995.